MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2015 Activities by Sponsor - David Shrier



Inspiring change: strategic narrative for startup success

David Shrier, Managing Director, MIT Connection Science

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/21
Limited to 14 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: none

Do you want to be able to raise money faster?  Do you want to enlist people to your team or try your product?

Great ideas are necessary but not sufficient for successful new ventures.  You also need to be able to inspire people to action.  Failed, inauthentic attempts to do this get labeled "spin" or "sales".  When done well and authentically, it's "strategic narrative" that transforms idea to action.

Inspiring change: strategic narrative for startup success will provide a hands-on lab for students to craft stories, obtain feedback, and improve them.  

 

What is "strategic narrative"?

It's "strategic" because it articulates a vision.  It's "narrative" because it takes someone on a journey, with you, that involves change of some kind (we solve a problem, we take over a market, we invent the future). 

Why should I care? 

The most successful entrepreneurs in the world - Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Mark Zuckerberg - all told compelling stories that inspired people to change.

Ready to gain inspiration skills to make your idea a winner?  Then sign up!

Contact: David Shrier, E15-385, 617 715-5206, SHRIER@MIT.EDU


Part I: introduction

Add to Calendar Jan/29 Thu 09:00AM-05:00PM E15-383, bring your laptop

Part I: introduction will help students create compelling stories that cause people to take action - invest in their startup, join their team, try their product.  Examples will be explored of successful narratives in a multi-media format.  Hands-on exercises will be conducted to apply learning directly to action.

David Shrier - Managing Director, MIT Connection Science


Part II: advanced module

Add to Calendar Jan/30 Fri 09:00AM-05:00PM E15-383, bring your laptop

prerequisite: Part I (introduction)

Part II will step the game up: advanced narrative techniques that surprise and delight will be revealed and explored.  How do you stand out when everyone else is also telling great stories?  Students must have participated in part I to gain the benefit of this second module.

David Shrier - Managing Director, MIT Connection Science